A Pennsylvania man returned to church after a 17-year absence and was led to a local Wesleyan church by an Internet search. Rev. Thomas Carney tells this man’s story and speaks of the importance of a church’s social media presence.
Something interesting happened this past Sunday. A first time guest introduced himself to me and I said, “How did you find us?”
“I have not been to church in 17 years. But I felt that God wanted me to take my family to church. I was last at a Methodist church but do not agree with them. I got online and looked up denominations and Wesleyan kept coming up. I never heard of them before so I did some research and thought I might like them since I like their denomination web page. I looked up “local Wesleyan church” and it showed one a 100 miles away and I thought, ‘That’s too bad.'”
“Then I got this thought to key in ‘Wesleyan’ on Facebook. When I did Journeymate Wesleyan Church showed up. I clicked on the link and saw it was not far from my house! I’ll be honest, I stalked the page and your page pastor for a couple of weeks to get a sense of what you were about. The more I saw the more I liked it. I want you to know that today during church as you were sharing and asked us to decide if we were willing to allow Jesus to come into our lives and live our lives for him, I made a decision for Jesus. I would like to think it was rededication. You were right, I had nothing to fear here. Next week I will bring my family.”
Recently, he sent this: “This coming Sunday not only will my wife and children be coming, but my mother as well. They all say I have changed and they are looking forward to meeting you and to see what church is like.”
“People are watching us, and God is directing them to the churches he desires them to be in,” said Rev. Thomas Carney of Journeymate Wesleyan Church in Bloomsburg, Penn. “If you don’t have a web page or social media page, get one. This man has been ‘Made New’ and I am so looking forward to meeting his family.”
Rev. Thomas Carney is senior pastor at Journeymate Wesleyan Church.
